Seoul Part 1: Hanbok Experience

By Helene Lydia - May 14, 2017

Finally on our third day in Korea, when we need to leave Busan for Seoul, the sun shone bright in Busan😂 Do not want to waste the shining sun, Mum and I went for a quick morning exploration to Oncheon stream park in Dongnae station before we head to the Busan Station. From my quick research in Google, Oncheon stream park is a gorgeous place to see the cherry blossom. When we arrived there around 9 AM, I was more amazed by the rape flowers planted along the riverside. It was the first time I saw rape flowers (I even googled its name!) and I really love the golden vibes it created. As the sun was getting stronger, we decided to go back to the hotel, re-check our luggages, and head to the Busan Station.
We already booked the train ticket before the trip via www.letskorail.com to ensure we get the seat. We booked the economy class' ticket for 59,800 and it can be booked 1 month before the departure date. There are three types of ticket, the first class, economy class and standing ticket. The superiority of first class are the bigger leg space and less crowded surroundings, because (I think) the standing ticket passengers can stand inside the economy class' car, but not in the first class'. The standing ticket was cheaper by 3,000 compared to economy class' ticket, but hey, standing for the whole 2.5 hours trip? Big no. For the extra comfort in first class, be prepared to pay around 20,000 more. The economy one is OK enough for us and it is better to spend the 20,000 for shopping, don't you think so? :)

We thought that we could stroll around the Busan station first before we board on the train, as we arrived at 11 while the train to Seoul will be at 12. However, the plan was totally canceled because the queue to exchange our booking confirmation with the real ticket was super long. We just succeed to get our ticket after queuing for 30+ mins. My main suggestion for you guys would be please come earlier and prepare your strong mental to deal with some rude ahjummas who queue with you lol. Also feel free to bring foods or snacks for your companion throughout the journey. They do have push cart selling snacks inside the train, but you can guess that the price is escalated.
Once we arrived in Seoul Station at 3 PM, we were in hurry. We had to rush to Nanta Theatre Hongdae for their 5 PM show, meanwhile we still need to grab our lunch and go to the hotel to store our luggage. We had quick lunch in a Japanese restaurant inside the Seoul Station then rushed to the lobby to find taxi. In that hectic situation, the ahjussi driver took the wrong way to our hotel and made our trip longer than it should be (I monitored it with the google maps). We arrived at hotel, proceed to check in and put our luggages inside the room. When we finally got inside the taxi to go to Hongdae, it was already 4:30 PM... The ahjussi driver showed us his estimated time for us to arrive in Hongdae will be at 5:20 PM lol. I just told him to rush, but he laughed at me and just pointed the Friday evening road condition which was so jammed. Finally, we were able to reach the theatre at 5:10 :')

The Nanta show was super hilarious! I laughed hard throughout the two-hours show.  It's a non-verbal show, so don't worry if you don't understand Korean. The performers were also very interactive, they engaged with the audiences through body languages. We were not allowed to take any picture of the show, so it let us focus on the show and fully enjoy it! For the ticket, we booked it via their website. We booked the VIP tickets for 60,000 each, but we got their special early bird discount of 40%, so we only paid 36,000 each. The early bird discount is the biggest discount offered by Nanta and it was a really great bargain. To get the discount, just make sure you book the ticket before the 14th of month  A to buy ticket for month B. In our case, as we watched the show on April 7th, the latest day to book the ticket with early bird discount was on 14th March.
The basic discount offered that you can find in Nanta's website
After the show, we just strolled around Hongdae area. There were so many cafes, restaurants, clothing and accessories shops and cosmetics stores in Hongdae. No wonder, the area was packed by many cool youngsters with the pink hair. Not to mention that it was Friday evening. There were also some street performers singing or dancing, hoping some agency will scout them. The ambiance was very alive! For dinner, we went into a random restaurant selling shabu-shabu and skewers. I was tempted to buy their skewers, but unfortunately it was lamb and I don't eat lamb :( So we skip the lamb skewers and ordered the shabu-shabu instead.
Second day in Seoul, I woke up and went for a cup of coffee with my cousin in a small cafe called 7GRAM. The place was simple and cute, but the coffee was inconsistent. My cousin's coffee was OK, but mine was way to sweet I have to ask for extra milk.
Later in the afternoon, it's HANBOK time!
We went to a hanbok rental store near Bukchon hanok village called 3355 Hanbok Rental. They have various design of hanbok (with different price range) that you can choose, but first thing first, tell the shop-assistant your height. They will give you the skirt with the right length so you won't trip when you walk around. You only allowed to try the hanbok once, so choose carefully! Once you changed to your hanbok with the help of the shop-assistant, you can choose your desired handbag (free) and ask for hairstyling service (extra charge). You can left your clothes and belongings with them by putting it in a given cloth bag. In return, you will be given a card to take the bag when you return the hanbok.

While most of people loves hanbok with short upper part, I always admire the long upper garment type of hanbok. Later on, I just learned that the longer upper garment is called dangui (당의) and mostly used by queen and princess. Luckily, the 3355 Hanbok Rental has 2 pieces of it and 1 of them is pink. I quickly changed to the yellow skirt given to me and the pink dangui, went for hairstyle, picked the bag and stored my belongings in the counter. My rental cost for the hanbok for two hours was 20,000, and the hairstyle service was 5,000.
All set, it was the time to walk around and take tons of picture! As I only rent it for two hours, I only stay around Bukchon hanok village area. Many travellers wear hanbok and bring the selfie stick in the village (and I also managed to snap some group pics with them lol). However, the village was not too crowded that day and I can have the cute photo spots with few photobomb! So lucky! Perhaps many people went for Gyeongbokgung that day? 
Taking picture with cute volunteers who remind the visitors to stay quiet in the neighbourhood 
My pretty cousin and the army!
Two hours has passed without we realized and we went back to the shop to return the hanbok. Then we moved to Gangnam and did some shopping. Gangnam underground was indeed my fave place to do shopping! There were many small makeup and clothing shops. The clothing design was up to date  and the price was affordable. Gangnam underground definitely need to be in your to-go-list :)
Oppa Gangnam style!
We closed the day by going to a restaurant named James Cheese in Myeongdong. They served pork ribs covered with melted cheese and kimchi fried rice that will be cooked with your leftover cheese. It was a really good closing for that beautiful Saturday in Seoul❤️
Hope you enjoy this lengthy post! Thanks for reading and I wish to see you again in my next post: Seoul part 2! xx

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